Missing
by keep-swinging
Summary: Something went wrong. Something went horribly wrong and now Barry was trapped in a room with a lot of medical tools that looked very scary. / snowbarry with hints of westallen and a lot of hurt!barry. five-shot; along with three bonus chapters. / NOW COMPLETE.
1. Part One

~Author's Note~  
So this is going to be a quick little five chapter story about General Eiling breaking his truce and kidnapping Barry. The quotes mentioned are ones I made up on the spot. Read, review and enjoy! :D

Other categories this falls under: friendship, family, romance and suspense.

 **Takes Place:** This takes place in the gap of season 1 and season 2, about two months in during the time skip. There are spoilers for all of season 1 and the start of season 2 in this story.

 **Pairings: s** nowbarry, westallen moments, barry whump along with hurt!barry throughout.

 **Rated Teen for** slight improper language, torture scenes, mentions of sexual innuendos and/or pieces, and a trigger warning for PTSD.

* * *

 **Part One**

"Pain is nothing but a warped emotion."

* * *

"Wake him up. Now."

Muffled sounds of someone speaking hit Barry's ears suddenly from the darkness that had bounded him, his brain still fuzzy and thoughts racing. There was the sound of something powering up, like an electrical zapping, and the next thing Barry knew was that he was in pain.

His back arched upwards as someone shoved an electrical pulse that could rival a Taser's into his lower ribs—the man biting his bottom lip to prevent a scream from escaping him as his eyes shot open. Barry could only gasp for breath as a yell tore out of his throat, groaning afterwards when the electric stick was pulled back from his ribs abruptly. His eyesight was blurry, his fogged mind put two and two together and assumed drugs, arms and legs restrained by something.

Barry was able to make out three shadowed figures fussing around him, their voices floating in and out of his ears as words he couldn't quite hear attacked him.

"—up the percentage—two hundred and fifty—"

"—that—kill him—"

"—no—General said—"

"Fine but if—dies—you—do it."

Black spots skimmed in and out of his vision and Barry let out a low whine from the back of his throat, attempting to break the restraints from his arms only to find that they didn't budge. Panic seized him when he saw the bubbled outline of the electric stick filter into his sight and he tried to talk only to find his mouth not obeying his actions, the stick moving closer to what Barry could assume was his lower abdomen.

He writhed against the restraints again, trying vigilantly to escape from the table he was trapped against and he felt the singe of electric lightly brushing against his skin before his body jolted backwards into the metal table he was stuck to as the stick was pushed harshly into his tender skin.

He couldn't hold it in as a screech left him followed by a meek shout of protest that was soon drowned out by his own screams. The voices reached him again somehow through his pain, "He can't—it!"

"General said—never wrong—"

"Well he was wrong this—"

"Get away—"

Before Barry could think of anything else, the white hot pain overtook him and he was shoved into murky darkness once again.

* * *

"Mr. Allen . . . wake up Mr. Allen." Barry's eyes opened with a flash of yellow, his body trying to sit up as he took in the room around him. General Wade Eiling stood proudly in front of Barry, like he was a prize of some sort, a malicious smile stretched over his lips.

He was in a small room with green looking walls, obviously algae infested, and no windows. A single metal door stood tall directly across from him and two large bolts held it in place followed by a number key lock next to the door handle. There was a faint dripping sound to the left of him and Barry's head turned to see water dripping from the ceiling into the far-most corner, some insects buzzing around the muddled spot.

All of the walls were bare and Barry figured the room could be no larger than a simple walk in closet.

Next he looked down at himself, seeing that his Flash suit was missing and replaced with the bare skin of his chest. He could feel that his boxers were intact, thankfully, and guessed the people who were fretting over him earlier were the ones who had changed him into the olive colored sweatpants he currently wore.

He was laid against a metal table that was so cold against his skin he thought he was going to get frostbite from being stuck there and thick leather bands encased his wrists and ankles—preventing him from being able to escape.

Barry's mind was still unclear and that's what worried him most because the last thing he could remember was the fact of suiting up and heading over to Jitters to start rebuilding the place and stop any extra crimes on the way. He couldn't remember anything past running out of S.T.A.R Labs at super speed. A weak smell of piss and blood assaulted his nose unexpectedly which caused a heavy coughing fit to appear. After the incident was over Barry groaned at the new agony surging through his ribcage—probably from his ribs jostling with the movement.

He could see a smirk decorate General Eiling's face for a quick second and glared as his eyes met with his. "Where in the hell am I?" Barry questioned in a growl, yanking at his wrist restrains again. The General seemed amused as he crossed his arms, looking down at the speedster.

"Someplace where you won't be found Mr. Allen. But, that shouldn't be a problem considering you've avoided contact with everyone you've ever known for about two months now."

Barry stayed quiet for a moment, keeping his eyes even with Eiling's. When he spoke again it seemed like the temperature of the room had dropped twenty degrees. "Let me go Eiling. You know this isn't going to end too pretty if you keep me here."

The General took a few steps forward so that he was a mere inch away from Barry's face and he grabbed the younger man's chin with his right hand roughly. "I don't think anyone will notice your disappearance Mr. Allen so there's no need in worrying about getting caught." He released Barry's jaw after glowering at the man a few more seconds and took a step back, clapping his hands together once. "Mr. Allen, have you ever paused to think about what your powers would do for the battlefield?"

Barry scoffed, "Yeah all of two seconds. You aren't getting my powers Eiling."

The older man turned on his heel to look at Barry and that sinful smile was present on his face again, "If we were able to infuse your powers into a special small group of soldiers there would be no more wars to fight. No more fear of terrorists invading our ranks, no fear controlling us at all actually. There would be no more fear because we would have a team of elite specialists that could take out any world leader in a _flash_."

Barry grinned after a second, "You wouldn't be able to get away with it Eiling, there's a major flaw in your plan."

Eiling's nostrils flared, "Which is?"

"Well number one would be the fact that I'm not going to allow you to steal my powers and number two is the fact that preforming testing on human subjects is illegal. You would be caught red handed in a matter of days."

Eiling's lips curved at the ends, in a mock sort of beam that set Barry on edge. "Mr. Allen, I'm one of the most well respected people in the military to date. No one would question me if I say I'm testing out a cure for Ebola or Breast Cancer and the fact that I have your signature on a load of papers that say you agreed to be tested on for oh I don't know—the good sense of making the world a better place—means no one is going to find out and no one is going to know your down here."

Barry kept his heart rate steady, though his powerful façade was slowly falling away as the seconds pasted and as Eiling proved to be smarter than he thought he could be. "How do you have my signature? On those papers?"

Eiling chuckled softly, "It's amazing what computers can do these days along with how far a favor in the military goes. You know what else Mr. Allen? I know you're going to help me because I know your real name—I know all of the people you love and all of the people you call your friends. I know the correct way to _break_ the Flash."

Barry said nothing as he worked himself up, vibrating his body to try and break out of the restraints. Eiling simply watched as Barry got himself nowhere and stopped his attempt seconds later, eyes alit with a hateful passion. "What in—"

"My doctors figured out a way to keep you in place. Those restraints are coated with a special formula to keep you there by using kinetic energy somehow. I'm sorry but I don't seem to remember what exactly they said it was. You know, too many big words." He shrugged indifferently, laughing to himself loudly. Barry kept his cool for exactly two point five seconds after before a loud roar of anger escaped him.

"I thought we had a truce Eiling! To find Grodd! I thought you said you didn't need me!"

"You're a smart man Mr. Allen, even for being so young. You should've known never to trust a man of my legacy."

Barry made a mental note to tell Cisco to hack into the military database and corrupt every possible name that worked hand in hand with Eiling once he got of there. If he was ever able to get out of there. "I'll get out of here Eiling and when I do you will _regret_ any torture you've ever done to people like me."

Eiling crossed his hands behind him, sighing heavily. "The problem with that thought Mr. Allen, is that you won't leave here alive if I have anything to do with it."

He headed to the metal door, covering the code he tapped in with his bulky body, and it opened; two mean dressed in white scientist jackets shuffling in dragging a small medical table behind them. The door stayed open behind them as they wheeled the table into the room and Eiling watched in joyful silence as the younger man's face showed a twitch of fear as he scanned at the tools now next to him. It was a small table with a silver tray on top of that was home to an array of cutting tools and needles. Barry didn't take a good liking to the one sharpened scalpel that seemed to stare back at him.

A third man came in with a EKG machine and the grey hockey mask that was over his face covered with wet blood didn't ease his heart at all as he crudely started hooking him up to the machine, placing sticky circles all over him. Eiling grabbed a clipboard off the table next to Barry and barely glanced at it before speaking.

"The first thing we are going to figure out is how exactly your speed healing works. After that we are going to see how long we can delay it and then move onto harnessing your speed and transferring it from one person to another. For now though Mr. Allen, I would suggest you get comfy."

As if on cue a woman and man dressed in crisp looking black suits entered the room with the electric stick that was prodding at him earlier and his heartbeat spiked at the memory of it. The doctor in the hockey mask grabbed a knife off the table next to Barry and looked towards Eiling; as if asking for permission. The second doctor pulled his sleeve up and set his stopwatch to zero, nodding towards the man in the hockey mask who Barry nicknamed Psycho in his mind.

Eiling exhaled looking from Psycho to Barry, "This is going to hurt a lot Mr. Allen."

In the mist of Barry nicknaming all of the people in the room in the meantime—Ticks, the man with the stopwatch, nodded towards the two people in suits (nicknamed Mr. and Mrs. Smith) who moved towards Barry while the first doctor quickly stepped back towards the door (aka Jumper by his nervous nature and constant tapping of fingers on something) but was stopped by Eiling putting a hand on the man's shoulder and turning him back towards facing Barry.

"You will be standing here to alert them to something they don't see."

Jumper grinned shakily and Barry strained to listen to their conversation as the intimidating people around him grew closer. "Y-Yes sir um—oh s-sorry um yes General."

Eiling patted the man on the back chuckling, "One hell of a first week right kid?" Jumper held two thumbs up and Barry guessed he had been there only for a few days or maybe few hours by the looks of it. Eiling went to walk out of the room but Barry stopped him by speaking loud enough for him to hear,

"You aren't going to get away with this Eiling! This won't hurt me and I won't _ever_ give you my speed."

Eiling turned and met Barry's line of sight as Mr. and Mrs. Smith jabbed him with the electric stick. Barry yelled out in protest and breathed heavily through his nose, Eiling smiling. "I will break you down and build you back up if I have to Mr. Allen. It's nothing personal but remember what I said about no more fear in the world? Well the only fear will be yours for me." Eiling left the room after his final words.

Barry screamed as Psycho suddenly came at him from the side and sliced into his forearm while Jumper flinched by the door.

The pain was unbearable once Mrs. Smith joined in with her own special type of electrical stick and then it was all gone at once as Ticks started his timer. Barry groaned and breathed in short pants as his half open eyes to glance at Jumper and then at the time next to him. All he knew for sure was the fact that something went wrong.

Something went horribly wrong and now he was trapped in a room with a bunch of crazy people and a lot of medical tools that looked very menacing.

The only thing he hoped for was for Iris and the rest of the team to be safe—as long as they were safe and he was in pain that was okay. It was a horrid thought as ever to think of them in pain; he could take it all. He would take it all if it met keeping his friends and family safe.

* * *

Eiling's cell phone beeped as soon as he made it to his office and he pulled it out after closing and locking the door behind him. He opened the text message with steady fingers and keep his face neutral after reading it's contents.

 **I have eyes on Miss West, Bryce is keeping an eye on Miss Snow. Dexter has been tailing Cisco Ramon while Grant is on Joe West. Timber reports no issues with stalking Professor Stein. When would you like me to bring the girls in?**

Eiling typed his response quickly and headed over to his desk, taking a seat and slightly lifting the file of all of the information he had on Barry Allen up so he could see the fine print, see if he was missing anything. He moved the main picture out of the way and saw the multiple pictures of Iris West and Catlin Snow behind it, mumbling to himself. "Two women that would do anything for Mr. Allen, how so very interesting."

Eiling murmured to himself, thumb tracing over the corner of the pictures. He kept glancing back at his phone but got more infuriated as the minutes passed with no text back from his 'called-in-favor'. With a grunt of disapproval he angrily picked up his phone after five more minutes passed with no response and called the man, the phone ringing twice before he picked up. "Yes sir?"

Eiling let out a labored breath, "Why didn't you answer Collins?" There was the sound of something scuffling on the other end and some muffled talking from an unknown person next to him.

"Grant and I are on the Wests. I think they might've made us when they saw me texting you." Eiling said nothing for a moment, mind a whirlwind of a thoughts. "Sir? Are you there sir?"

"Yes I'm here, did you lower their suspicions?" He heard Collins ask Grant a hushed question and then the sound of a humorless laugh.

"We don't know sir."

Eiling slammed his fist on his desk, cheeks flushing with rage. "Keep on them and tell me if anything changes you damned fools!"

Collins was barely able to stutter out an answer before Eiling smashed the end button and dialed another number, thumping his fingers wildly against his oak desk. The phone rang four times before it was picked up. "Bryce here,"

"Bryce there's been a change in plans. I have reason to believe Grant and Collins have been made."

Bryce scoffed, leaning backwards and kicking his feet up so they rested on the dash of his car. "They always sucked at this undercover shit, even after all the time they've been discharged. Me on the other hand, well I couldn't wait to get back in the field."

Eiling smirked in answer, "You owed me a favor. Miss Snow?" He didn't waste time in getting straight to business and Bryce chuckled on the other end of the line.

"Currently picking up something to go from a fast-food restaurant on third and sixth. She'll be finished up in a minute tops and then heading back out to her car." Eiling laughed to himself quietly, shaking his head.

He missed having Bryce around as his right hand man, "Bring her in. Make it quick and make it quiet or else."

"Sure thing Wade. I'll see you in an hour."

With that the connection to the call was cut and Eiling lowered the phone from his ear, letting out a breath of air he didn't even know he was holding. The plan was going to be quick, easy and simple and by the end of it all Barry Allen would be dead and his soldiers would have healing powers and unbeatable speed. There was a knock at the door and Eiling snapped the folder on Barry Allen shut, hiding under the stack of papers he still had to fill out for his time of absence.

"Come in."

The door opened and Ticks walked through, Eiling keeping his face calm. Either something had gone terribly wrong or amazingly right for him to be meeting with him in his own personal office. "Shut the door behind you Adams."

"Of course sir," Ticks did as he was told and took a seat in the leftmost chair in front of Eiling's desk, holding tightly onto the clipboard in his hands. Eiling placed his hands on his desk, holding them open.

"What is it you need Adams?" He passed off the clipboard to Eiling, the older man taking a long glance at the times and pain tolerances listed there. "You figured everything out already? I thought it would take hours—"

"We aren't completely finished yet Eiling but I have enough solid information for us to start working towards something to pause his speed healing." Eiling didn't believe the numbers before him and looked up at Ticks in disbelief.

"A plain cut takes five minutes to heal and then a massive gash in his side only thirty? What about burns from the electric?"

Ticks nodded, "Fifteen. It's outstanding what he can do and that's why I think we need to start working on something now."

"I agree, get started right away but remember, be discreet." Ticks stood up as Eiling handed him back the clipboard, "The only plus side of this is that we can give him as much pain as ever because he heals so fast, so much so that he loses hope. To break him."

Ticks grinned malevolently, "Right away sir," and then left the room, leaving Eiling alone again.

A lot of discharged people had owed him favors and so he had called them all in to assist him with his plan, to which they all agreed to, and everything was working out perfectly. He grabbed the folder on Barry Allen again and clicked his tongue.

"Soon you will be begging for all of this to end Mr. Allen and I will get everything I've ever wanted from your speed. I'll make it a better world."


	2. Part Two

**Part Two**

"The best way to realize who you truly are is through the people that discover you."

* * *

"Iris, Iris," Joe stops his daughter from walking past him with a gentle hand on her elbow, "Have you seen Barry?" Iris shook her head, a worried look that nearly mirrored her father's crossed her face. "The last time I spoke to him was on Th—"

"Thursday?"

Barry hadn't shown up to work on Friday because he took a personal day, for what Joe had no idea, but he didn't prod. Though it was unnerving that Barry had talked to no one over the weekend. Joe looked around once before nodding his head towards where Barry's lab was and grabbing Cisco by the arm as the three headed up the stairs.

"Hey, hey what's with all of the manhandling?" Cisco questioned as he pulled his arm out of Joe's grip, just then noticing the concerned look on both of their faces. "Um, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Joe sighed as he leaned back against the window, crossing his arms. "We don't know yet. Barry seems to have gone off the grid, the last he spoke to anyone was on Thursday."

Cisco's eyebrows furrowed, waving his hand as he tried to remember something. "I was bugging him on Friday through text about the team and then he stopped answering around midnight."

Iris looked around the lab, seeing no indication that he had been in there—the biggest give away for that was how neat everything looked. If Barry had been in there it would've looked more like a rat's nest than usual.

She exhaled unevenly as her fear worsened, "Well where is he now? It's Tuesday."

Joe and Cisco looked at each other and the former sighed, knowing Iris was slowly starting to freak out. He took a few steps forwards and rested his hands on Iris' shoulders, rubbing softly. "Listen baby, I'm sure he's fine. No reason to get freaked out." His voice was oddly soothing for Iris but she shook her father's hands off her and looked to Cisco who was already typing different things into Barry's computer to see what he could find.

She looked back to Joe with a distraught face, "Dad no one has heard from him in three days. What if he went and did something stupid when facing off with a metahuman?"

"He couldn't have, we would've gotten a report with a sighting and there were none over the weekend. He's alive Iris, I know he is."

Cisco's typing came to an end as both turned to look at him and neither liked the scared look that was threatening to break out over his features. "I was able to hack into the computers over at S.T.A.R Labs to see if he went out on any calls but there was nothing, the last time the computers were used was on Saturday."

"So he's been missing for three days?" Cisco seemed speechless at Iris' question as he tried to get some words out but Joe beat him to it.

"No he's not missing. Cisco, could you try to hack into his suit tracker from here?"

"I can try," with that his fingers were moving quickly, exhausting the different hacking techniques he knew and fighting through firewalls and traps that Felicity had set up from her last visit. Without looking up from the computer he started speaking rapidly and Joe came to stand at the back of his shoulder. "This is weird. So I was able to access the records for all of the times Barry had put on his suit, because there's a scanner over the case that tells when he rushes by, and the last recorded time he put on his suit was on Sunday night. So then I skipped the security cameras back to that time and followed his exit from the Lab and I was able to track him all the way to Jitters, but then after that it seems like he disappears."

A chilling through struck Iris as she moved to stand next to her dad, "There's an off the grid camera for the back entrance of Jitters, the owner hid it and tried to erase any traces of it existing so that if anyone broke in he could still catch them without losing video feed."

Cisco looked baffled as he went through the cameras scattered near Jitters again, "What? No there isn't I just—damn, you're good."

"I try," Cisco brought up the feed and moved it to the time frame that corresponded with the other streaks of red flying by and all three were rendered dumbstruck when a military truck pulled up and within a matter of seconds later, an unconscious Barry was being dragged to it by three men dressed in black garb. A few more seconds passed and once Barry was stored in the truck, Flash suit still equipped, they drove off. Cisco closed out the feed window and brought up Barry's suit tracker.

The vitals that were usually alive with life were dead and all shot to zero on the right side of the computer while on the left an zoomed out map of Central City sat with big red words that read 'SIGNAL LOST' staring back at them.

Iris staggered as she leaned on her father's shoulder.

"Oh my god," she breathed, feeling the tears prick at the back of eyes. But she couldn't stop the visions of Barry's mangled body marred with burns and cuts from entering her mind.

* * *

He doesn't remember when he had lost conscious but when he wakes up again the pain is softly throbbing through his body, not nearly as bad as it was the last time he was awake but it's there and it causes a groan of resentment to leave him.

Barry cranes his neck so he can see how his chest looks and is surprised to see no open wounds, the only thing remotely alarming is the dried blood that literally covers him whole as it is draped across his bare chest like a blanket and spattered on his pants like an artist had lost hold of their reality. Behind all of the blood Barry can see some faint splotches of pink over his ribcage and one cut near the band of his sweatpants that was in the process of healing.

A faint memory came to him, one where after he had gotten beat up pretty badly by a deranged metahuman, Caitlin had sat next to him and helped him help. She had told him to go to sleep and rest for a little while because from what she knew he healed faster when he was asleep; as his brain didn't have to do too many things or keep too many things in check.

It took five minutes of her running her soft fingers through his hair before he had fallen into the dream world.

He smiled at the memory, though moving his jaw caused him to wince, at the blissfulness that was his life. He had pushed them all away to protect them after what had happened to Ronnie and Eddie—he couldn't fathom the thought of losing any of them—especially not Caitlin or Iris. He couldn't risk putting those two in the line of fire. Never. He sighed, attempting to moving his arms and remembering with a heavy heart that he couldn't, that he was trapped.

His brain was clearer now and Barry figured now was as good of a time as any to try and piece together what had happened and how he got caught. He had ran over to Jitters and was rebuilding when a noise from the back at caused him to freeze in place . . . but then when he had turned around nothing was there so he went back to working.

The next thing he knew there was a numb feeling in his neck and his body and mind had given out on him.

The next thing he knew he was here.

Barry muttered angrily to himself; he shouldn't have gotten caught. He should've been more careful. He had superpowers and some low paid military assholes were able to catch him. That linked his mind to think of another troubling thought—how was Eiling getting these crazy people to back him up? They couldn't possibly be part of the military; Barry found it hard to believe that so many bad people would be a part of something so horrible, to be a part of torturing the Flash in their spare time.

There was shouting from the other side of the door, it was abrupt and it was loud and caused Barry to jump from the unexpected noise.

"Let go of me!" yelled a woman's distressed voice and Barry's stomach dropped at how familiar it sounded. It couldn't be. The door opened with a brash slam, revealing Ticks and Jumper dragging a young woman by her arms.

"C-Caitlin?" Barry questioned weakly, his heart pounding as he pushed against his restrains.

She looked up at his voice and gasped just as the two men dropped her on the floor and turned back towards the door. She wasn't able to catch her footing in time and fell as the metal door slammed, leaving Barry and Caitlin alone. Barry fought against the restrains as Caitlin stood back up and ran over to him, poking and prodding at him before her cold hands found their way cuffing his cheeks. He could see the fear in her eyes at the sight of the crimson covering him.

"Oh my god Barry, what did they do to you?" she murmured, Barry cracking a debilitated smile as she stared down at him.

"I'm fine. How did they get you?" her hands left his face and worked in undoing the brown, leather restrains holding him. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to gain the strength to move after she undid the restrains holding his hands and then opened them again and looked towards Caitlin when she responded.

"I was walking to my car after getting a burger and the next thing I know someone grabbed me and I ended up here. You're not okay Barry," She undid the restrains over his ankles and then went to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He winced but with Caitlin's help managed to get into a standing position. "Cait, you need to get out of here. It's not safe and I can't lose you." He muttered, yelling out quietly when her hand accidently brushed against his ribs. Damn that hurt.

She said nothing and he watched her as she pressed on his body to make sure nothing serious was wrong with him, to make sure his sped up healing getting mend one of his bones wrong.

He watched her; brown hair frazzled, eyes focused in and concerned, pink lips chapped and formatted in a thin upset line, business clothes matted down by dried tears and his blood and yet in Barry's eyes—she couldn't have looked more beautiful. And he knew she had to get out of there because he couldn't lose her to someone as twisted as Eiling, who wouldn't hesitate to shoot her.

"Cait please. I can't lose you, you need to go before Eiling comes back."

Her eyes met his sharply as her actions stilled, "Eilings behind this?"

"He broke the truce and he's out for blood. He wants to use me to make a super powered army and Caitlin you need to get out of here before he does something to you."

They stared at each other for a moment; Barry's eyes worried, Caitlin's determined and without any warning the latter leaned forwards and pressed her lips to Barry's. He was shocked at first (she was really kissing him!) but then snapped himself out of it a second later and kissed back, feeling warmth spread throughout him at her caring touch. His hands moved upwards, as the kiss deepened, to cup her cheeks gently and her hands came to rest on his bloodied chest.

She pulled away a few moments later breathing heavily as his lips brushed against hers a final time before they locked eyes.

"I'm not leaving you Barry." He smiled, thumb stroking her pale cheek.

"I know. You're too stubborn to listen to me anyway."

She rolled her eyes before he pulled her close and her head came to rest on his chest; his arms around her in a protective hug. Caitlin snaked her arms loosely around his torso in answer, feeling his lips leave a soft kiss on her hairline. He had been yearning for some type of human contact for days. "I'm going to get you out of here Cait, okay? I'm going to keep you safe, I promise."

She didn't let him see the tear roll down her cheek, instead nodding into his chest.

" _We_ are going to get out of here."

The door smashed open and a protective instinct inside of Barry shielded Caitlin more in his hold as he turned his head to see General Eiling standing there; crooked smirk plastered over his lips. Psycho and Ticks stood on either side of him.

"Well isn't this a nice surprise?"


	3. Part Three

**Part Three**

"Life is like an infinite game of chess, though some of us never wish for a final move to appear."

* * *

"What is she doing here Eiling? I'll stop you dead if you try to do anything to her I swear."

Caitlin turned her head so that she could see who was in the doorway, her body still flush against Barry's and face half buried into his chest. She wouldn't have been able to move if she tried, as the vice-like grip Barry had on her waist (as gentle as it was) was probably not slacking anytime soon. Barry's voice had been steady and threatened that he wasn't to be messed with, one Caitlin had only been able to hear through the speakers back at the lab from when he would be stopping metahumans.

She didn't know if it was more reassuring or more terrifying in person.

Eiling guffawed once the sight before him fully made sense in his brain—he had just grabbed Doctor Snow because Miss West had made his lookouts, but he had no idea the two were so close. The gears in his mind started turning in the many ways he could use their newfound relationship against them and he snapped his fingers as the first move came into play.

It reminded him of when he was a teenager and his father would play chess with him endless hour after hour, drilling the same rules into him—showing him multitudes of different battle strategies that had been used in his father's days of serving in the military.

The first moves were always the easiest because there were only two ways to start out; preparing or attacking.

"Doctor Snow, why don't you join us over here?" Eiling never held too much patience and it wasn't just a 'growing older' thing like his parents had claimed when he voiced his concerns—it was more of a 'get things done to better the world' type of thing even if some people heavily disagreed with his methods of doing so.

But what did the General care?

This was his chess game now, Barry Allen held the polished, white pieces in his hands clueless while Wade Eiling already had a game plan as to how he was going to capture his king. And while Mr. Allen was still stumbling around with placing his pieces, Eiling had already decided his first move and his team for the rest of the game.

Attacking.

"Don't you come near us Eiling or else I will vibrate my fist straight through your fuc—"

"Barry."

The former was silenced at Caitlin's wavering voice, she was worried for the both of them. Extremely worried. She also knew Barry making fall-through threats would do nothing to help their case if they were to get through this torture that was their capture alive. Eiling smirked as he turned his head towards Psycho, mind rearranging pretend chess pieces.

"Why don't you go and grab Doctor Snow for me so we can get this over with?" Psycho nodded and with a hand resting on the pocket knife strapped to his side he advanced towards where Barry and Caitlin stood, the latter trying her best to hide the tremors surging through her.

Barry Allen was about to sacrifice a bishop to one of Eiling's pawns.

Barry waited until the perfect moment, once Psycho was in arm's length, before shoving Caitlin behind him and using his speed to dart forwards and send a punch to Psycho which succeeded in knocked him out cold. Next he moved towards Ticks and the man was fast at dodging his punches but not fast enough as Barry was able to send a powerful uppercut to his jaw and then a swift kick to his gut afterwards which doubled Ticks over in pain as he slammed to the floor under the weight of Barry's body hitting his. Barry whipped around to face Eiling but instead found he wasn't there, turning around sharply when he heard Caitlin's gasp of pain smash into his senses like a row of trucks.

Eiling stood behind her with his back pressed against the wall and knife pushed deep into her throat, enough to cause trails of red to leak from either side, with one arm around her neck and another holding her there by the waist.

"Now, now _Flash_ , I wouldn't lose my temper if I were you. I've heard you care for this woman very much." Barry froze, eyes darting back and forth between Caitlin's frightened face and Eiling's provoking leer. Yellow swam behind his irises when Eiling spoke again, "You are going to walk over to that table and strap yourself in."

Caitlin shook her head as much as she could between her wheezes of air, as Eiling's chokehold was having a slow effect on her. Or maybe it was the adrenaline pumping through her veins because of the knife shoved against her throat. "Barry no if you do that you'll be powerless and your body can't take much more even with your healing—"

"Shut. Up." Eiling growled into her ear, tightening his hold on her neck and causing her eyes to widen at the sudden loss of air to her lungs. "I would hurry Mr. Allen. I doesn't seem like your friend can survive much longer."

"Alright. _Alright!_ " Barry held his hands up quickly, "I'll go just let her go."

Eiling loosened his hold on her neck. "Table Mr. Allen, now."

Barry did as he was told, breathing out heavily as he struggled with moving his body over the table and laying down, able to strap the two top restrains over his arms as Ticks came back to the world with a heavy cough before restraining the speedster's ankles and harshly at that.

"Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Allen. It'll make her death much less painless." After Eiling finished speaking he passed Caitlin off to Ticks and before Barry could put two and two together he was dragging her out the open door.

"Caitlin! Eiling we had a _deal_!" Caitlin tried to fight against Ticks' hold but with no success as she could only look back at Barry's fading form in the distance.

"Barry!" He strained his muscles as he tried to break out of his restraints.

"I'll save you Cait! Just hold on!" She didn't answer and her hair disappeared from the hallway leading to his 'room' and he nearly roared in frustration as Jumper entered the room with a syringe in hand which he handed to Eiling speedily.

"Bring Mr. Haines to recovery will you?"

"Y-Yes sir," Eiling waited until Jumper had carried Psycho out of the room (Barry had to give the kid credit, he was stronger than he looked) before holding up the needle under the light so Barry could see it.

"You see Mr. Allen, when I want something I get it. This is one of many solutions my doctors came up with in freezing your sped up healing so I could get some real torture and answers out of you and after you take this well, let's just say the real fun begins."

Barry glared at the man and steam could be coming out of his ears because of how mad he was.

"Where did he take her?"

Eiling shoved the needle into the exposed skin of Barry's upper chest, waiting for it all to empty and Barry's eyes to fill with burning, white hot pain as the solution worked it's way through his bloodstream. "You just worry about having to stay awake while this enters your body. Apparently it hurts like heal because for a temporary amount of time it stops your white blood cells in place so they can't fix anything. Horrible, horrible painful it is according to my doctors." Eiling leaned in close to Barry's face, patting his cheek. "You enjoy and I'll make sure Doctor Snow has the best time of her life."

Barry groaned as Eiling headed towards the door, grinning when a shout of agony escaped Barry.

"Y-You wo—won't get a-away with this Eiling,"

"I already have Mr. Allen." The door slammed behind him as he left and his mind threw away the virtual chess game in his head.

He had won, as always.

Checkmate.

* * *

"Um g-guys?" Cisco's shocked voice causes Stein, Joe and Iris to run over to his side as he allows them to watch the same security footage he had just watched seconds before—the sickening crunch of the camera being shot down afterwards echoing through the all-too-quiet S.T.A.R Labs basement.

Iris can't speak, it feels like her tongue is a physical piece of lead in her mouth.

Joe is speechless, his mind racing and questions of 'how in the hell could this have happened so fast' attacking him.

Stein is trying tackle different experiments in his head but crunching numbers is doing nothing—he knows they are all fooling themselves in thinking that Eiling didn't have horrid plans awaiting Barry because of his speed.

Cisco gulps loudly before speaking he hopes his voice sounds stronger in person than it does in his head. "This was footage from earlier today of . . . of Caitlin being kidnapped."


	4. Part Four

**Part Four**

"A hand on your shoulder allows you to move on but a hug allows you to heal."

* * *

He wakes up in a cold sweat after a few hours, body burning and mind going haywire.

His eyes scope out the room around him, heart pounding as he tells himself over and over again that the nightmare wasn't real—that Caitlin isn't bleeding out on the floor, that Iris doesn't have a butcher's knife sticking out from her chest, that Joe isn't riddled with bullets, that Cisco is breathing, that Stein isn't buried alive ten feet underground.

A part of him feels like he's going to be sick but that feeling disappears after he realizes that there are multiple bleeding cuts located over his bare upper body.

Then he remembers Caitlin and Eiling and the needle and he kind of wishes that the dreams were real because those horrors made more sense then what was going on with him—that Eiling was able to create an solution that slowed his healing. Barry exhaled, moving each of his fingers to make sure blood was still flowing through his body as he tried to make sense on what was going on.

First, Eiling had created a serum that stopped his healing dead in its tracks and it had to be destroyed.

Second, Caitlin was gone somewhere in the facility and had to be saved.

Third, it looked like while he was unconscious Psycho had free rein of his body which mean the literal stabbing pain all over was from the cuts and burns lining his body.

Fourth, Eiling had gone over the line and if Barry got out of this he was going to make sure he paid for it—all of it.

Fifth and finally, he had to get Caitlin and him out of there as soon as possible.

Before Barry has time to mull over the thought of how to escape, the door opens with a few clicks of locks undoing from the other side before Caitlin is standing over him; quickly unhooking the restraints holding his body still.

"Cait?" He murmurs, blinking his eyes a few times to make sure he isn't seeing things as she undoes the final strap on his left ankle, helping him sit up by his shoulders.

"Barry we don't have too much time—oh god what did they do to you?" Then she's carefully touching his chest, inspecting the wounds as Barry holds in snuffed gasps.

He stops her by reaching a hand up, his fingers grazing her flushed cheek. "H-How did you get in h-here?"

She turned her head towards him and he _knows_ she's not going to allow him to comment on the gash on her forehead or the cut on her chin or the blood leaking from her forearm so instead he uses all of the strength he has to sit up the rest of the way so that his legs are dangling off the edge of the table and then turns his head so that his lips connect with hers.

It takes her a matter of seconds to connect the dots and kiss back, her hands coming to rest cautiously on the brawl of his chest; unintentionally careful to avoid the bleeding marks and painful spots. He slips a hand around her back, pulling her closer as his fingers trail up her spine and he can feel her shiver as they pull away; foreheads resting against one another.

She takes a few breaths before answering, her right hand lifting up and brushing his hair back.

"I had to knock out a few guards on the way, we don't have much time Barry and I know you're hurt but we need to get out of here." He nods, groaning as he gently pushes her away so that he can stand.

"I-I know. Grab my s-suit over there." She does as she is told and holds the suit tight in her hands, Barry cracking his neck and preparing himself for the windburn that is for sure going to be on his cheeks and chest.

"Eiling put a serum in me. Stopped my healing, we need to f-find it and destroy it."

Caitlin bit her bottom lip as she moved close to Barry so he could pick her up bridal style. "Barry we—"

"I'm not letting innocent people die because I was stupid enough to get caught." He answered sternly as the room took a shade of red and alarms staring blaring, Barry lifting Caitlin up with a heavy grunt as she held onto his crumpled suit and neck as though her life depended on it.

Then everything is flying past her vision and the next thing she knows is that they are in a lab and red bottles are all around them.

Barry doesn't waste time in smashing everything before him and then they are taking off again, dark red blood coating his hands as he flies through the outskirts of Central City.

He makes it through the doors of S.T.A.R Labs and stops himself when he makes it to the bright white room that is the main control room before tripping and Caitlin falling from his arms as his head hits the ground and everything goes black.

* * *

There's the soft chatter of beeping near his ear as he stirs, feeling someone's knee bobbing in a steady pace by his hip. Barry tries to sit up before opening his eyes, causing the heart monitor to go wild and the person sitting next to him to place a calm hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Hey it's alright. Barry, open your eyes."

The relief that washes over the man in question is unbelievable as he opens his eyes and sees Joe smiling at his side.

"Joe." Barry grinned as he said it and the older man moved close for a quick hug, chuckling when he pulled away and took his seat again.

"Hey kiddo. You gave us quite a scare there."

Barry looked around and saw that he was laid up in bed in the center of the room, the line of computers beeping and dimming up and down as the hum of equipment met his ears. He was hooked up to a good amount of machines, white bandage wrapped around nearly his entire torso.

"Wait, Cait is she," suddenly his voice was small and Joe felt like Barry was younger again, like everything was simple again. Joe rested a hand over Barry's shushing him.

"She's fine, she told us what happened. Cisco says the serum in you should wear off in a few hours and then everything will start to heal in regular pace again." Barry visually relaxed, shoulders slacking and heartrate slowing down. Joe laughed softly at the difference, Barry turning his head with a curt smile.

"What are you laughing about?"

Joe's eyes were indulgent when he looked back at his son, lips tugged in a compassionate grin.

"Caitlin, you love her don't you? Like Iris?"

Barry's cheeks didn't lit up in a blush like they normally would, instead he just drew a breath before looking to Joe and answering. "I love them both Joe, I do. But Caitlin she's . . . she's different. She's like a part of me."

Joe rubbed Barry's hand, "You care too much Barr, but it warms my heart that there are still great guys like you in the world."

Barry laughed loudly, Joe joining in and the two clutching their stomachs after a minute before relaxing themselves. "I know."

"I missed you a lot kid, I'm so glad your back and that you're safe. I'll get that son of a bitch if it's the last thing I do." Barry didn't answer, mind a whirlwind of memories as Joe continued. "Caitlin's still recovering so you can't see her yet and Cisco and Stein went to go and get something to eat. But Iris is here, do you want me to send her in?"

Barry snapped to attention with a happy nod, "Please."

Joe stood up slowly and leaned over to leave a fatherly kiss on Barry's forehead, mindful of the gauze. He went to turn and walk away but Barry grabbed his hand, "Joe, thank you."

Joe kept a straight face, shaking his head. "Don't thank me Barr. Thank yourself. You're the one that got yourself outta there."

With that he was gone and Barry was left by himself in peace, the drum of the heart monitor keeping him awake as his body awoke with pain. Everything hurt but it was better with the fact that he was _safe_ , that they were safe and that Eiling couldn't get to them.

The sound of hurried feet padding into the room caused Barry to look up and a grin to stretch across his face at the sight of Iris running to his side. She didn't waste a second in leaning down and hugging him, her head resting gently on his chest for a moment as Barry ran his hands through her hair in a comforting motion that mimicked one he used to do when he was younger.

He felt her damp tears on his bare chest and one of his hands went down to rub her back, hear a hushed sob come from her throat broke his heart.

"It's alright Iris, I'm here. I'm safe." He muttered, the woman nodding her head slightly.

"Barr you scared the living hell out of me," she whispered and with a heavy heart Barry realized that he was _fucking_ terrified too.

So he simply leaned down and pressed a kiss to her hair, slipping a hand near her face to wipe the tears off her cheeks.

"I was scared too Iris. But now we're safe. I'm safe." Barry knew he wasn't saying those final words to calm Iris, but instead saying them to assure himself because for some reason; it felt like a monster was still lurking around inside of him.


	5. Part Five

~Author's Note~

Here is the ending guys. I would just like to say a huge thank you for all of the favorites, follows and reviews this has gotten. I don't know if I will write another snowbarry fic in the future but if I ever do I hope to have the same support in the future so once again—thank you all so much! :)

I did my best to have the end tie in with the start of season two (because this story takes place in the time gap) so for the final time; read, enjoy and review!

 **Note:** The next three chapters are bonus chapters.

* * *

 **Part Five**

"We look at ourselves in the mirror and sometimes, a completely different thing is found staring back."

* * *

He heals after a while.

The cuts disappear, burns turn into faded pink spots, his skin fixes the gashes with some uninterrupted healing, face still looking as boyish as ever and only one scar left behind—it's on the right side of his ribcage, a circle-like blue mark that Caitlin says won't cause any lifelong problems, just mar his flawless body (well the ending was what Barry said really before he had pulled her into a kiss, then she had rolled her eyes and shoved him away).

It's been two months.

Everyone has been avoiding talking about the incident, because no one wants to believe that it actually happened. Each ignores it in their own special way, trying to pretend that it was just a _really_ bad nightmare they couldn't wake up from. A really bad nightmares that had scary looking medical tools and twisted smiles.

Cisco buzzed around S.T.A.R Labs with the determination to improve Barry's suit so that the trackers worked better and full encouragement that nothing could be disabled again.

Professor Stein studied more patterns, more formulas; so that if he had to use Morse-Code or rely on his mind and mind only to find someone he could.

Joe took down any criminals he caught with more fervor, more hate—no one he knew was going to come in harm's way again if he had any say in the manner.

Iris spent as much time as she could with Barry, sticking close to him and when they were together she stood as close to him as she could just to reassure herself that he was alive next to her (he had caught her one time, elbow brushing against his arm and he had turned to her and placed her hand over where his heart was erratically beating; the same thing he had done after waking up from the coma).

Caitlin mended in her own way, checking her surroundings more often and being sure to call Barry each night, not able to fall asleep without his voice muttering to her soft whispers of nothing over the line.

It's a Friday night, near midnight. Barry is zooming around Jitters; fixing broken chairs, putting new windows in place, cleaning up shattered glass from the floor, sparing multiple glances towards the back door to make sure no one is about to barge in and take him again. He exhales after coming to a screeching halt next to the main counter, where many polished coffee machines sit waiting to be used.

A part of him can't help but turn his head back at the locked back doors, the reflection of the lone light in the ceiling bouncing off the black metal. Barry's too engrossed in his stare that he doesn't hear the front door chime as somebody walks in.

"They aren't going to get you again Bar," he turns his head at the sound of his best friend's voice as she takes a few cautious steps towards him, "my dad says he pulled some strings. Eiling isn't allowed to step in Central City."

Barry exhales heavily, Iris close enough to lean on the counter next to him. She stands there with her arms crossed, fingers toying with the bracelet perched on her left wrist. "I'm not trying to be paranoid," he whispers and Iris turns her head towards him, "it's just . . . it's nothing I can help." Barry's head turns so that his eyes lock with hers. "I made it out of there, yeah. But, Iris, I feel as if I'm still trapped there. I feel like . . . like Eiling still won after all of this—even if I did destroy the vitals of my blood and get Cait out of there."

She says nothing and simply moves her body close enough to his so that their sides are touching.

The new warmth is welcomed by both adults.

"But he didn't win Barry, you did. You got out of there, you stopped him from creating a super solider serum, you saved Caitlin and _you_ escaped. Not anybody else. You." Silences follows her words, it's deafening—suffocating—between them. Then her eyes are able to catch the slight trembling of his fingers, trembling that she knows isn't from his powers.

When Iris tries to catch his eyes again he avoids hers, looking down at his feet instead. She can see the glassy hue to his eyes, the one he tries to hide desperately. Barry takes a minute to gather his words, to form a sentence and swallow the lump clogging his throat.

"I'm scared Iris. I'm scared of the unknown."

His voice is so quiet she nearly misses his words but after hearing them, tears prick at her own eyes. He's gone through so much, done so much for Central City and is repaid by getting captured by a twisted man and tortured. Iris says nothing as she grabs one of his hands, holding it tightly in her own. Her head comes to rest on his shoulder, nose buried in the fabric of his shirt.

She faintly realizes that he smells of hair gel and vanilla.

Iris then realizes with a heavy heart how much she had missed that smell, how much she had missed him.

The days where he was still lost in a coma, the days where she wasn't sure if she was going to lose her best friend or not, the smell of him (just him) kept her grounded. He was her rock and Barry was always there for her when she needed him. Now she needed to be there for him. "It's okay to be scared Bar," she mutters, Barry's lips twitching into a smile for a record of three point two seconds before it disappeared again.

"I'm a superhero Iris, I shouldn't be scared. I'm supposed to save people. I shouldn't be scared." She chuckles and it's a beautiful sound to him, it's addictive. He ends up smiling from the sound, "What?" He murmured, lifting an arm and throwing it over her shoulders; bringing her tiny body close to his side in a snug hug. Iris shook her head, burying her face into his shirt again as he wrapped his arms tight around her.

"I just forget how great of a person you are sometimes Barry. I don't know what I would do without you. Listen, you don't have to act fearless all the time, no one is perfect and no one is going to think anything less of you if you admit you _are_ scared." Barry chuckled again, face falling to rest in her hair as she giggled.

"I don't know what I would do without you either Iris."

They stayed locked in that taut hug for a long while.

* * *

"Hey," his face nuzzles into the side of her neck from behind, arms wrapping around her slim waist. Caitlin laughs, cheeks blushing red as she finishes up with the vital she was messing with, turning around only for him to sneak in a kiss to her lips. They share the bliss for a few moments until Caitlin pushes Barry away for air.

"What are you doing here? Is there something wrong?"

Barry laughed loudly, "Jesus Cait, you sure know how to ruin a moment. What, I can't stop by and say hi?"

After his talk with Iris the night before, he felt better looking at himself in the mirror where he didn't see a gory monster staring back at him. He felt better about himself and the people around him. He was surrounded by family.

Caitlin sighs worriedly, "Barry, what is the real reason why you're here? Not that I mind," she added on quickly, Barry's arm releasing the hold they had on her.

"Well if you must know, I came here to ask you a question." She looked up at him with curious eyes, brows scrunched in wonder. He takes her hands with his, "Caitlin, will you be my girlfriend?"

The grin that crosses her face is adorable in his eyes, one that is carefree and gorgeous. "Yes."

Her reply is all he asks for and his lips are back on hers in a flash. And even though this is the one reunion between the team that was never mentioned again because everyone only wanted to forget it, it was still fresh in their memories every day.

A few weeks later, a flash of dark blue darts through the streets though no one notices as it watches the Flash battle a man ten feet tall with the public all around—black slits used as eyes narrowed at how much of a fight Barry puts up. He knows he'll need to find some better people to use if he wants the Flash dead.

But, he would complete his mission.

Even if it was the last thing he would be able to do.


	6. Bonus Chapter - Need

~Author's Note~

So this certain one-shot takes place around what would be _episode one_ of _season two_ (spoilers ahead if you haven't seen it yet) and I just was in the mood to write some snowbarry hurt/comfort so that's what I did.

* * *

 **Bonus Chapter** **—** Need

"Don't hate me for needing you when my demons get a little too close."

* * *

He's pushed out of sleep by the sound of his phone sharply ringing, Poker Face blaring through the speakers. Barry lets out a loud grunt of disapproval, lifting his head and raising a hand over to his nightstand to search for the electronic menace.

His fingers grasp nothing for a few fleeing seconds and just as the ringtone is about to be cut off by the chorus he finds his phone—fumbling over the green answer button and pressing it to his ear. He rubs at his chin with one, balancing the phone on the pillow with the other.

"Hullo?" He mumbles groggily, eyes still closed and body already ready to go back to sleep as all he hears from the other end of the line is shallow breathing. "Cisco," he mutters dazedly, "if this you I swear I'll kick your ass tomorrow."

"B-Barry?"

His eyes snap open at the sound of not Cisco's laughter on the other end of the line but Caitlin's worried voice there instead. Barry sits up in bed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "Cait? What's wrong?"

He's too out of it to hear the sniffle that comes from her and the shuffling from her end of the line, like as if she's curling herself into a ball someplace. His eyes, still glossed over from sleep, glance over to the alarm clock on his nightstand; the neon numbers reading 3:21 in the early morning.

"I'm sorry B-Barry I know it's late and that it's stupid of me to be calling but," she cuts herself off before he can hear her voice catch, Barry already throwing the blankets off from being wrapped around his torso.

"S'fine, Caitlin, what's wrong?"

He's able to catch an unsteadily exhale leave his girlfriend, "I-I just, I'm scared. I-I—I need you Barry."

That's all the confirmation he needs as he stumbles out of the warm bed, flipping on a light so he can find some clothes. "I'll be there in a minute." He ends the call and she feels more reassured then because she knows he means a literal minute; only sixty more seconds of having to be alone.

Barry staggers around his bedroom, picking out a clean blue tee-shirt from his closet and slipping it over his bare chest—switching out the black sport shorts he has on for a pair of grey sweatpants because he rather not freeze to death on his run over to Caitlin's apartment.

He struggles with staying awake, purely exhausted from the day before—having fought and defeated the meta-human sent by Zoom from Earth-2—Al Rothstein.

Then he flips off the light vivifying his room and races out of the house, arriving milliseconds later in a flash of yellow and red at the steps of Caitlin's apartment complex. He looks around to make sure there's no people around before looking down and making sure his garments hadn't caught fire. With a respire filled with relief at the sight of no auburn pieces of fire sticking to him, he made his way through the door.

Caitlin's apartment was on the second floor, up a flight of creaky stairs and the third door on the left.

He faintly remembers his conversation with his girlfriend about the manner, one time after feeling out of breath from battling a meta-human and then walking Caitlin home.

She had noticed his distress and made a playful comment about it ("Out of breath there Allen? Maybe you should workout more,") and he had rolled his eyes, sending a quip back her way ("Very funny, you just want to see me shirtless,") which had caused a darkened blush to roll over her cheeks.

Then they had bantered back and forth for an hour about speedsters and workouts as Barry raided her cabinets for something to eat while she started 'Legally Blonde' up on Netflix. And after he had settled next to her on the couch with a full stomach, she had snuggled up next to him—Barry making frisky remarks about how 'lightning gave him amazing abs' for the rest of the night.

She had fallen asleep when his lips were pressing kisses to her neck, because the action was just so damn calming, and then when the credits rolled for the movie he shut off Netflix and carried Caitlin to her room, making sure she was snug under the blankets before locking the door and heading home.

He wouldn't forget it; how peaceful she looked in slumber, cheekbones gallant, lips slightly parted, chest lifting up and down gently and soft hands clutching his even in sleep.

He made it to Caitlin's door just as a yawn made it's way past his lips, knocking on the metal softly. The thumps echoed through her apartment but no one came to answer the door and Barry's eyebrows creased in confusion. "Caitlin? It's me," he tried the doorknob and was surprised when the door pushed open, stomach knotting in hazy worry. He entered the apartment, shutting and locking the door behind him, only to meet by a pitch black living room.

"Cait?"

Barry felt his way through the empty room and down the hall to where her room was located, flicking on the nightlight near her bed once he made it to her room.

That's when he saw her.

The light gave Caitlin's cheeks a yellowish hue, making her look older than she really was. She had her blanket pulled up to her stomach, fingers fumbling over one another as they toyed with the soft material and she was laying on her side (Barry's mind couldn't help but remember a night that seemed so long ago, one where she was drunk and in nearly the same position with him at her side).

He slowly made his way over to where she was facing, crouching down in front of her.

When her eyes saw him, they flickered with liberation, but it was gone as quick as it came. He reached a cautious hand forward, cupping her cheek gently. She flinched away from his touch at first but calmed after he spoke, voice a throaty rumble in the quiet room. "Hey, it's just me. You're alright Cait, I'm here."

That's when he saw the tear roll down from her eye, the salty hazard mocking him from afar. He saw her swallow, probably the imaginary lump she felt in her throat from the fear that was controlling her, and then she spoke softly.

"I've been awake for three hours, tossing and turning. Nightmare." He saw multiple emotions crossing her face—from happiness to guilt and then glimmers of fright. He's brought back to reality when Caitlin speaks again, tone a whisper. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you. This is probably so stupid . . . I was just . . . I feel so scared, th—the dream felt so real Barry."

He shushes her, thumb stroking her cheek. "What was it about?"

Her usually guarded eyes are open now, unguarded and walls broke, something Barry swears he's never since before.

That's how he knows she's truly terrified.

"Eiling. Hurting you . . . t-torturing you—killing you in horrific ways. Then doing the same to everyone else I know; Cisco, Joe, Stein, Iris, Ronnie and even Garrick."

Jay Garrick had been around only for a few days and everyone was still on edge about trusting him; Barry was surprised he was even in her nightmare. But Caitlin only trusted small amount of people and was only friends with a sole group so at the same time it was understandable.

"Cait," he crooned carefully, "none of that was real. I'm real here and as long as I'm breathing, I will always protect you. Alright?"

She sniffles, "I know." Barry sends her an award-winning grin, hand leaving her face to grab both of her hands in his. "Barry?" She questions him in a frail voice—that of a little kid's petrified of the monsters under her bed.

"Yeah Cait?"

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

He chuckles softly, "Of course."

And like the gentleman he is he keeps true to his promise, stroking her face, hands, kissing her fingers until her eyelids slip shut after a little while. He hums Summer Nights softly under his breath, lyrics leaving him in a whispered murmur as his smooth voice soothes her into a deep sleep.

Once he knows she's asleep he leaves a lingering kiss on her forehead, turning off the light and heading out to her living room. But Barry doesn't feel too sure about leaving her just yet so he settles into the couch and turns on the television, watching re-runs of Friends until he falls asleep himself.

Neither have any nightmares about losing the other for the first time in a while.


	7. Bonus Chapter - Captive

~Author's Note~

This is a tag to episode 2x06; a really, _really_ random take on something that could happen to Barry and Caitlin. I'm in the mood to write some hurt/comfort snowbarry and protective Barry scenes so this plot emerged cause why not.

Oh and for the sake of the story, the BarryxPatty romance hasn't happened.

 **Warnings for this:** Spoilers from 2x06 and a warning for heavy material at the end of this.

* * *

 **Bonus Chapter—** Captive

"We all have a heart of steel, some of us just actually decide to do something about it."

* * *

After the words had left his tongue, he felt hollow inside.

It was like a weight had been lowered onto his back after saying it, like he was holding the burden of a large boulder. What was worst though, was their faces.

When he had said it, Cisco's face was one of confusion at first and then pure horror as the pieces fell into place and clicked together.

Since Caitlin was the most rational of the three she had ignored the heavy flow of emotions surging through her and had instantly gone to work in checking every inch of Barry.

Over the next few hours, countless tests later, there was only some relief found.

His body was recuperating, slowly but surely. The blunt amount of injuries had numbed his super healing down to near nonexistence so he wouldn't have feeling in his legs for a while. How long though, Caitlin didn't have an answer for and as grateful as Barry was about the fact that he wasn't going to be paralyzed for life, not knowing how long he was going to be out of commission was killing him. The city needed him and here he was, stuck in bed.

The news slowly made it to everyone he knew, twisted versions for each person (depending on who they were) so that no unneeded hunting of Zoom would commence. He was too dangerous to go after, and Barry wouldn't be able to stop Joe or half of Central City if someone decided that Zoom needed to pay for his crimes to Flash.

When Joe had visited a bedridden Barry the next day, Cisco had filled him in on how there was no feeling but that he would recover.

When Iris had spent countless hours at Barry's side talking to him (because it _had_ scared her to death, the sight of a limp Barry being held like a ragdoll by Zoom) he told her about his legs in a careful way to make sure she wouldn't lash out—and she ended up taking the news like a pro, making him promise to call her if he needed something no matter what it was.

When Harry had found out, he just nodded and said something about how Barry 'wasn't fast enough' before walking away to experiment with things in the lab; with no idea how much his words affected Barry in the meantime because the younger man had been running from crap his entire life and even being the fastest man alive wasn't enough.

Joe took care of Patty, telling her he was out of town visiting Starling City to catch up on some leads for a different case just to make sure it was nothing huge. He used a different excuse for the department, telling them he was out of state to take care of a sick relative.

But either way, all ins and outs were covered.

The only thing still left open was the fact of the Flash.

 _He_ had gotten humiliated in front of all Central City, and as Zoom paraded him around like he was nothing but a piece of dirt, the two most important girls in his life were forced to watch him like that—destitute and naught.

Barry hadn't said too much in the past few days, mostly because the words of 'I can't feel my legs' still felt dense in the air.

He was afraid that if he said anything else it would just fall on deaf ears; that it wouldn't stand next to his past words. His mind was stuck in a different place, jammed between a rock and a hard place.

"Barry," his eyes snapped up at the sound of Caitlin's voice in front of him, her lips tugged in a frown. He blinked a few times, seeing her lean back and sigh. "Did you even hear what I asked Barry?" She questioned, seeing him shake his head with remorse.

"I'm sorry Cait," he mumbled, reaching his hand out to grab hers.

Caitlin wasn't blind to how distant her boyfriend had gotten; how he never rambled on about science too much anymore or have five hour facetimes with Iris over the phone when he couldn't sleep. She was glad he was eating his typical diet though, but she knew he couldn't help that as his body was frantically trying to heal all of his problems at the quickest rate which required him to eat more food than usual.

She focused her eyesight on their holding hands, his thumb gently rubbing over her pale knuckles unintentionally. It was a habit of his, whenever they held hands that his fingers would trace over some part of her knuckles. Caitlin didn't know where he picked up the habit from (as she had questioned Iris about it and she had said he had done that same thing to her for years, the two had become great friends in a short amount of time) but she definitely didn't mind it either.

It made her feel welcomed, cared for.

Loved even.

They hadn't said their 'I love you's' yet, not that she minded. She rather them take it slow so that nothing was too fast and messed up between them. Though at times she found herself too attracted to him, ready to tackle him and have his strong arms carry her into the bedroom where him being a gentleman could be damned.

Caitlin knew those urges were unhealthy and unlike her but she couldn't help it, Barry was _such_ a sweetheart and _such_ a gentleman and _so_ freaking kind to her.

Them sleeping together, actually sleeping together, wouldn't be such a bad thing . . . would it?

She pushed out of her feelings by Barry squeezing her hand, bringing her successfully back to the present. "You okay?" She looks up at his face and it's full of concern, caring eyes staring at her sensibly.

"Yeah, so ready to listen to me now Allen?" He laughs and it's a joyful sound, one she hasn't heard in a long while. She had forgotten how lighthearted it was, how relaxed, how gleeful.

"Yes, I promise. I'll always listen to you Cait."

Caitlin hopes he doesn't notice the dusty shade of pink warm up her cheeks, instead repeating her question from before. "What do you want to eat for dinner tonight?"

Really, it was only four in the afternoon on a Saturday but she was hungry. And she figured it would just be a _tad_ too cruel to make herself something to eat and allow the person with no feeling in his legs to starve.

Barry smiled, shaking his head with a snubbed snicker. "Dinner already? Trying to out-eat me there Snow?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes, reaching forward and playfully smacking him in the shoulder, "I'm hungry and I only asked to be nice. But since you don't want anything to eat I guess you can just starve." She stood up from her seat next to him on the couch, making her way towards the kitchen as Barry sputtered from where he sat.

"Cait," he moaned leaning his head against the back of the couch, "I didn't mean it. I'm hungry too! Don't let me starve!"

He heard her laugh from the kitchen before she entered the living room again, walking over and standing over him. "Are you going to be nice to me Allen?" She asks suspiciously, crossing her arms.

Then Barry gets a rebellious glint in his eye, smiling at her.

"Come over here and find out," he whispers, Caitlin feeling a chill run up her spine. She slowly does as he says, taking a seat in his lap. His strong arms wrap around her, lips pressing softly against her neck. She curls herself into him, loving the feeling of his warmth around her, of being so close to him. With a heavy mind she reminds herself that she nearly lost him forever just a few days ago—if Cisco hadn't had been that quick with the gun Barry would be dead.

His heart _wouldn't_ be beating and he _wouldn't_ be holding her tight in his arms.

His hands caress her back and she finds herself relaxing in his hold, eyes slipping shut. After a moment, his lips disconnect from her neck and he nuzzles his face into her hair. "Nice enough for you?" he murmurs gently, Caitlin's lips twitching into a smile.

"The best," she replies, moving herself so that she's cradled in his lap; his arms around her and hers around his neck. He smiles too, chuckling. It rumbles through his chest, the feeling shooting all throughout her like lightning. She inwardly laughs at the feeling, the ironic manner of it.

After doing enough tests with Barry to rival that of the most cautious doctor, Cisco and Joe agreed that it would be best for Barry to stay at her apartment for a while so he could heal. Joe knew the kid was feeling pressure from all that had happened in the past week and knew being stuck in a hospital bed would do nothing for him because all he would do would be worry about Caitlin and the rest of them. So now he was holed up in her apartment instead of S.T.A.R Labs. It was a win, win situation because now he was around his girlfriend all the time—and who would complain about that?

He was usually laying horizontally on the couch (as it was being used as his makeshift bed) but with some smart quips he was able to convince Caitlin he was well enough to sit up on his own for one day.

So she helped him do so and all day the two had lounged on the couch watching Netflix. You could never go wrong with reruns of 'Murder She Wrote', it was a television oldie (though Caitlin was a professional at guessing the killer five minutes in which eventually caused Barry to turn on 'The Office' instead with mutters under his breath about how she had spoiled his binge watching of a classic).

A heavy knock on the door startled them, Caitlin groaning loudly as Barry laughed. "Since we both know I'm out of the question, I think you should get that Cait." She unwillingly slipped out of his hold but not before punching him in the chest.

"Did you order five pizzas without me knowing again Barry? Because I will kill—"

"No, I swear I haven't been near a phone all day. You hid them all from me, remember?" He countered innocently, the woman laughing as she headed towards the door.

"Well next time don't order five pepperoni pizzas and I won't have to hide them from you." She heard him grumble something that sounded along the lines of 'but I was hungry' before shaking her head and reaching the door.

Not bothering to look through the peep hole, she swung it open, wondering who could possibly be at their door on such a lax night in. "How can I help," her sentence trailed off when the sight of three masked man looked back at her, "you."

Before she could say anything else, one reached for her and pulled her out into the hallway, shoving a leather hand over her mouth to mute her struggles. She ended up against the wall, one of the man's hands over her mouth and the other pushing the force of her body into the uncomfortable plaster.

"Who is it?" Barry called from inside, voice indifferent as he worked in turning Pandora on with the remote being on the other side of the couch and two useless legs. The man who held her nodded to his friends who crept towards the apartment door, but not before poking Caitlin's shoulder harshly.

"Who else is in there?" He questioned starkly, voice low as his friends waited by the still opened door. "Don't even think about calling for help."

If there was _ever_ a time where Caitlin wished Barry had his powers, now would be one of them. The man removed his hand from her mouth, Caitlin rushing through millions of words in her brain before settling on the safest answer presenting itself. "Just my friend and I."

The two men took that as all the answer they needed as they entered her apartment stealthy, both crouched low to the ground where Barry wouldn't be able to see them.

The man holding Caitlin was too tall for her to overpower him and he seemed to be in his early thirties from how much strength he held her with. A black ski mask was over his face, with two cut out holes for his eyes and a simple black sweatshirt long enough to cover any clothing underneath over his torso. Black pants and muddy boots were also a part of her garments and from the look Caitlin had got at his friends, they all seemed to be around the same age and wearing nearly identical things.

From what she could figure out, they seemed to be your casual run-of-the-mill crooks—burglars looking for an easy place to rob for a few quick bucks.

Why they had to choose her apartment, with a currently _powerless_ superhero inside, out of all of the places in the world; Caitlin would never know. "Cait? You okay?" Barry probed from the living room, letting out a triumphant breath when he was finally able to grab the remote and return to his comfy position.

Caitlin's heart pounded, what were they going to do with Barry?

He was paralyzed, powers muted for who-knew-how-long and he couldn't run. Running was who he was. Who . . . who was he without that?

"What do you want with us?" She interrogated, though the answer was already plain as day. The man in front of her stared at her for a minute, green eyes flaring.

"Well," the arrogant tone of his voice struck a deep nerve with her already, "you see, my friends are going to sneak in there and do a few things. First, they are going to knock out your friend. Second, they are going to check for cameras. Third, they are going to gather up some expensive stuff for us to take while I keep you quiet out here and finally; we are going to take our leave. Though you are one pretty thing, aren't you? Maybe you can come with us, beautiful?"

His hand reached forward and cupped her cheek, Caitlin instantly recoiling. She wasn't going to say anything else but the next words had just blurted out her, maybe it was because of her fear for what would happen to Barry or just pure fear of the unknown. "Don't hurt him," she whispered, the man's eyes flicking back up to meet hers instead of staring at her lips, "he can't use his legs. Please don't hurt him."

She didn't beg for things, it wasn't her. She was a better person than that.

The man in front of her processed her words sluggishly, taking in each one like it was a king's buffet. "Your friend's paralyzed?" His voice is tainted by a malicious presentence, one Caitlin doesn't like.

She nods stiffly.

The man then does something she doesn't expect, grabbing her by her arm and towing her back into the apartment; slamming the door shut behind her. "Boys! No need to knock him out. We've got an interesting case on our hands. He can't move!" The man moves so that he and Caitlin are standing in front of a shocked Barry who sees the men inch away from where they stood behind him out of the corner of his eye.

The speedster quickly puts the pieces together, understanding that they were burglars out for a little robbing fun and how the man holding Caitlin had his face pressed just a little too close to a lock of her hair, and within seconds the shocked expression is replaced by one of anger.

"Let her go," he nearly growls, attempting to move himself forward by grabbing the arm of the couch. The man holding Caitlin chuckles mockingly at seeing Barry try to move, jostling Caitlin around like she's some type of twisted prize.

His friends are already busy raiding the kitchen and going through her bedroom; throwing anything worth money in a plastic trash bag and then moving onto the next place.

"Who? Beautiful? Eh, I don't think so. She's quite a beauty ain't she?"

Caitlin could see the fury escalate in Barry's eyes as he grunted quietly and tried to move himself again, failing as his legs stayed still. She tried to get him to lock eyes with her but he didn't, instead looking straight at the man holding her. "Shut the hell up and get your hands off my girlfriend."

"Oh," the man holding her look pleasantly surprised as he tugged Caitlin up so that his lips were by her cheek, "really? She's your girlfriend?" He looked from Barry to Caitlin, "Seriously? You're dating a scrawny ass kid like him? Beautiful, you could get someone so much better."

She flinched at his abruptly brash speech, Barry not being able to take it anymore as a shout escaped him so that the man's attention was on him and not Caitlin.

"Hey! Look at me." The man sneered as Caitlin heard the double meaning to her boyfriend's words and looked over at Barry, trying her best to hide the fright resting there. She knew he saw through the barrier instantly, she could never lie with him.

"What are you going to do about it kid?" The man taunted, holding Caitlin closer to him.

Barry's eyes dashed between the man's and hers; Caitlin seeing the inner deliberation sitting there. She shook her head in the slightest motion, telling Barry not to do anything. He overlooked her, to put it modestly as he gestured to himself for the man.

"What kind of man holds a girl like that? If you have something to say, say it to me. Or are you not the big, bad man you try to be?" The man's grip of Caitlin tightened and she could tell Barry's words were having the opposite affect than he had hoped for.

"You got some balls kid, yeah. But you aren't anything but a cripple and I'm going to show beautiful here, well," he paused, looking down at Caitlin and then looking back at Barry, "I'm gonna show her a good time. Something you've probably never given her. Come on, beautiful."

With that he sent a glare to Barry, dragging Caitlin by the arm towards her bedroom. Barry felt the moments pass in never-ending seconds, seconds that felt like hours as he saw ever possible emotion cross over Caitlin's face as she passed by him.

She reached a hand out, in what felt like slow motion, to Barry who was able to grab onto two of her fingers for a millisecond before they were ripped from each other's grip.

Then he turned his head feebly and could only watch as the man made it to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Barry felt the rage building inside of him, it was ugly and it was overwhelming. He had to save her. But, he had no legs? How could he even—

"No, please you don't have to do this!"

Barry's eyes pressed tightly shut at the sound of Caitlin's fragile voice; frenzied and panicked.

He couldn't just sit there idle and let him—let that greasy, hideous, disgusting excuse of a man—do things to her. God, why did he have to be so _stupid_ and face Zoom when he wasn't ready? Why didn't he listen to Joe or Garrick even? If he had his powers he wouldn't be in this position, he would've zipped in and out and had the criminals tied up—

"No! No, no please! B-Barry! Help!"

Caitlin would be safe if he had his powers. She would be safe and _God_ she was calling him even knowing he couldn't move because she wanted to be saved by him. But he couldn't do anything. The wrath inside of him was mammoth and substantial; shooting through his veins and rushing like liquid down through his stomach and filling in the cracks between his bones.

"Don't do this! Please, _please_ don't do this. Barry!"

It crackled through him like a zap of energy, down his spine and up to the tips of his ears. His mind sprinted, throbbing in trying to keep up with the thing filling up every inch of Barry's body. Then his eyes shot open. Barry realized the stunning comprehension in a split second.

It wasn't rage flowing through him.

"Barry!"

It was speed.

He connected with the speed force quick, body vibrating in place as yellow darted between his orbs and lightning striked behind his eyelids. And within a second he was gone, running faster than ever before as he skyrocketed through the apartment.

The two thieves scavenging through the kitchen cupboards were tied up and left hanging upside down outside of CCPD within moments (a quick thought shot through Barry's mind that he was mimicking Batman but what could he say—he was a comic book nerd at heart) as they groaned and struggled with trying to undo the rope holding them there.

Onlookers gasped and pointed as a few mulling cops had their jaws hitting the floor as they watched the red blur of yellow sped away.

Barry raced back to the apartment, ripping open the door to Caitlin's room and tearing the man off her; sending a good amount of speed punches (as Cisco called them) his way before dropping him off at CCDP as well. But he was chained to pole by a spare pair of handcuffs Barry snagged off a police officer before the speedster heading back.

He made it to Caitlin's room in a flash of red, using his speed to cover up her ripped shirt with one of his S.T.A.R Labs sweatshirts before gathering her into his arms. She struggled weakly, not having enough energy to truly fight back but he shushed her guardedly, holding her flush against his heaving chest.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're safe Cait, it's just me. You're okay."

He heard a muffled sob escape her as she curled into his chest, Barry rubbing her back comfortingly. "B-Barry?"

"Yeah Cait, it's me. I got you, alright? I'll always catch you when you fall." He felt like he was speaking out of a cheesy romance movie but those were the words that were right for the moment.

"But y-you can't, you can't w-walk." She struggled with her words and he just held her tighter.

"You're safe," he repeated, "you're safe. I got my speed back. I saved you."

She just let out another sob as he held her closer but he wasn't sure if he was saying that last part for him or for her.

He didn't let go of her for the rest of the night, not even to answer his phone that lit up with countless texts from Cisco and Iris questioning him about the 'red streak seen running through Central City' and multiple missed calls from Joe.

Caitlin was more important to him in that moment.

She forever would be.


	8. Bonus Chapter - Hands

~Author's Note~

This is a shorter bonus chapter, just exploring what could be the aftermath from last chapter (so these past two could count as a two-shot, really) and because I wanted to write some hurt/comfort.

 **Warnings for this:** Spoilers from 2x06. Some heated snowbarry moments. Trigger warning for a panic attack.

* * *

 **Bonus Chapter—** Hands

"It's hard to think of anything other than you."

* * *

"This is nice Barry."

The man in question smiled sheepishly at Caitlin's quiet voice across from him, shrugging modestly as he took a small sip from the glass in front of him. "It's nothing really," he replied with a blush lighting up his cheeks, "you just deserved something enjoyable. A night out."

Caitlin smiled, reaching forward and picking up her drink (she had opted for a simple Iced Lemonade because she hadn't felt quite in the mood to attempt and get drunk off all of the white wine that surrounded them).

The two were currently out at a fancy Italian restaurant a few blocks away from Caitlin's apartment of Barry's choosing. A few days had passed since the burglar incident and Barry had done well in his promise of keeping Caitlin safe—considering he wouldn't let her out of his sight most of the time (and even when he had to, because of some fire or robbery in the city, he would make Cisco swear up and down that he would keep a close eye on her just in case).

Caitlin felt neutral about the whole thing; she looked at Barry's overprotectiveness sweetly, avoided leaving her apartment unless necessary and Barry had basically moved into her apartment by now. His clothes were stacked in sloppy boxes in the corner of her living room and they shared the same bed at night ( _purely_ for sleeping), the other the first thing they saw in the morning.

Everything was going great, at least on the outside.

On the inside—Caitlin was still having nightmares about Eiling and the crook who had tried to assault her while Barry could still see Zoom catching up to him behind his eyelids, hear the sickening crack of his spine when his eyes were closed.

They both had their inner demons, though both were keeping them hidden well enough that the other wouldn't notice (that wasn't a hundred percent true—as Caitlin saw the barely noticeable flinches from Barry when anyone mentioned Zoom and Caitlin, even with Barry asking her over a thousand times by now about if she was alright, Barry knew she still wasn't okay to be on her own).

Barry had proposed a date night for the two of them just so they could take a night to themselves, a night that wasn't interrupted by any Flash duties or Netflix binge watching.

So far everything had been amazing, as Caitlin would put it, and both were finishing up their small deserts when Caitlin had decided to break the peaceful silence around them. Barry called the waiter over for the check once he made sure they both were done, stopping Caitlin before she could pull out some money from her purse to pay with a gentleman's smile.

He paid for their meals and escorted Caitlin out the door, one arm draped lazily around her lower waist as they started the walk home. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face, just being around Barry these days put her in a blissful mood.

Maybe it was love.

"Thank you," she murmurs after a few moments of just being nestled in his hold, Barry grinning as they crossed through an empty intersection.

"For what?"

Caitlin swats him in the arm, Barry chuckling as he pulls her closer when a soft breeze whistles through the air. "I'm serious, Barry. Dinner was great, I," she pauses, sighing, "I really needed that. I'm actually kind of sad that the night's over already."

Barry says nothing for a minute; taking in her quiet tone of voice, the shallow words. Then a thought comes to mind and he feels the speed force crackle from deep within his veins. "Who says the night has to be over?"

She shivers at the rumble of his lips by her ear and goes to say something but before she can he's picking her up bridal style and racing them through Central City's crowded streets and within seconds the world comes back into focus as he drops her carefully on the ground of her apartment.

Caitlin looks around bewildered, laughing in disbelief as she whips back around to face Barry, who has a goofy smile on his face. His arms are still snaked around her waist, her stunning blue dress pressing against his fancy button down.

"You never stop surprising me, Barry Allen." Caitlin mumbles when she looks at him again, her eyes darting happily from his gorgeous eyes and then down to his lips. Barry's smile seems to widen as he tugs her closer, eyebrows raising.

"I guess this will be a long night of surprises then, Miss Snow."

Before Caitlin can comment on his sudden throaty voice, his lips are pressed against hers.

She smiles into the kiss, reacting to the action as her arms wrap around his neck. She kisses back with just as much fervor, fingers trailing through his soft hair as he suddenly hoists her up, her legs wrapping around his waist.

A soft groan escapes Barry as he uses his speed to zip them into Caitlin's bedroom; pushing her up against the wall. Barry's lips lift from hers when he needs air, but not stopping their intimate moment and instead continuing it by trailing gentle kisses up her neck.

Caitlin smiles when Barry raises his head to meet her eyes, and her hands find their way to the hem of his shirt. "Are we really going to do this?" She whispers, her voice near inaudible between their heavy breathing.

Barry's eyes are filled with so much want, so much _love_ that her stomach fills with millions upon trillions of butterflies at the sheer intensity of it.

"Only if you want this as much as I do," he mutters, and his voice is thick with hunger—husky.

She notices that his hands are halted on her hips, waiting for her go ahead before he goes father and the gentleman part of him warms her heart. What did she ever do to deserve someone like Barry? She waits a few seconds before pulling at his shirt, with what she knows is the right reply.

"I do."

That's all the answer Barry needs as he grins and takes a step back to yank his shirt over his head and throwing it somewhere in the room, stepping back towards her and attaching his lips to hers. Caitlin runs her hands up his muscled stomach, feeling like a giddy schoolgirl, until an abrupt feeling that she doesn't quite understand enters her gut.

Then there's a voice entering her head.

 _I'm gonna show you a good time, beautiful._

Barry's hands trail lower down her thighs and Caitlin tries to ignore whatever is speaking to her by moving her own hands up his chest and grabbing at his shoulders and she thinks it's working. That is, until the tender touch of Barry morphs into harsh— _frigid_ —fingers trying to go places they shouldn't be.

 _Stop calling for the cripple, what's he gonna do?_

"B-Bar—"

Caitlin's voice catches before she can finish and Barry seems to not notice as his hands come to where the zipper is on the back of her dress. Her heart starts to hammer and she _knows_ it's not from the heat around them.

Something's not right.

 _You should be screaming my name._

The world closes in on Caitlin too fast and her mind barely has a spilt second to put together the pieces and think—oh God _panic attack_ —before it hits her. Her lungs close up, heart thumping wildly, hands shaking and body scrambling to get away.

 _Barry isn't here right now beautiful, it's just you and me._

"Get off me!"

Her shout startles Barry so much that Caitlin is able to successfully shove him backwards, his body hitting the ground with a hushed grunt escaping him at the pain that emits from his bare shoulder blades.

She takes huge gulps of air, struggling to calm her senses as Barry watches from the ground with confused eyes, until the answer hits him when he hears her whimper a soft 'no, please'. Barry quickly clambers to his feet, rushing over to Caitlin's side and putting a hesitant hand on her shoulder.

She jerks away from his touch as he pulls his hand back like lightning, exhaling softly.

"Cait? It's me."

Her panicked eyes meet his—small, afraid, _scared_.

Barry reaches his hand back out, his fingers grazing over her shoulder. "It's me." He repeats, hand trailing down her arm and grabbing her quivering hand gently; fingers rubbing over her knuckles. "Hey, it's me, okay? You're safe. I'm not that man. He's never gonna hurt you again, okay?" Caitlin's dazed mind starts to clear at the sound of his temperate voice, her breathing slowing.

Barry sends her a lopsided smile, hoping it does something—

As soon as Caitlin sees Barry's smile all of her fear washes away and she launches herself towards his, wrapping her arms tight around his bare torso. Barry catches her with a soft 'oomph' as her face buries into his chest and he lowers them slowly to the floor, his face burying to her hair. "Barry, I-I . . . it was a panic attack and I-I didn't mean for it to happen and I'm so sorry—"

The words tumble out of her before she can stop them, but Barry just shakes his head, shushing her.

"It's alright baby, it's alright. I'm here, okay? I'm right here."

And he holds her.


End file.
